Only the Truth Pt. 04

Sadie closed her eyes and sighed. A series of emotions played across her face while she worked on pulling herself together, then she opened them again and searched my features. "You didn't answer my question before."

"Which one?"

"How did she know? Was it a lucky guess or...?"

And then it clicked into place.

It never occurred to me that she might get the wrong idea when she found out who'd started those stories. I rubbed the frown line between her brows, trying to keep my voice even so she wouldn't catch on to the frustration building in me.

Freaking Claire. Still had the power to cause shit without even lifting a finger.

"When I said nothing was going on I meant it. Only the truth, always."

Her hopeful expression wavered then fell. "But you're still not answering the question."

The accusation in her tone felt like a punch to the gut, but after everything she'd learned over the past twenty-four hours, I couldn't blame her for doubting me. I rolled off her to give us both some space, landing on my back beside her with a sigh. "Because it was a complete non-event. It's not what you're thinking."

Sadie rose on one elbow. "So, tell me."

Her hair hung over one shoulder, the ends brushing my chest as she gazed down at me. I slid my fingers through the strands as I recalled the one and only time Claire had copped an eyeful.

I went for my Saturday morning run at the football ground three blocks from here, where I liked to do laps of the oval followed by sprints until I couldn't breathe. When I got home, I jumped straight in the shower, failing to take a change of clothes with me.

Completely naked afterwards, I dried my hair with a towel as I headed down the hall to my room, not caring about being exposed since Claire and Andy had been on their way out to do grocery shopping when I went into the bathroom.

While I alternated between scrubbing my hair and checking to see where I was going, I heard a weird little squeak from behind me. I turned around and lowered the towel to find Claire standing there, open-mouthed in horror.

I'd have a hard time deciding which one of us moved the fastest after that. I yanked the towel down in front of me while Claire turned away and sprang into action.

In her hurry to get out of there, she smacked her big toe against the doorway and let out a pained howl like an injured animal. Instinctively, I reached out to make sure she was okay, but it turned out to be a mistake. She hopped back from me and screeched, "Don't touch me! Don't touch me!" then overbalanced and hit her head on the fucking wall.

I watched the emotions play over Sadie's face while I told the story. Curiosity, surprise, then a small smile. When I finished, she let out a huff of amusement. "Okay then."

I laughed at the memory despite not feeling a trace of humor at the time. "No. Not okay at all. She wouldn't make eye contact with me for about a week after that. Every time I went near her, she flinched like she expected me to whip it out again and ask if she wanted to take another look. It would have offended me if I hadn't been just as traumatized as her. I felt like I'd flashed my sister."

Sadie gave me a half smile. "Awkward."

"Yeah, awkward doesn't begin to cover it. I'll never walk through the house naked again."

The lightness disappeared from her features and a pensive expression took over. She toyed with my hair for a minute while she appeared to think something through. "I know it sounds possessive," she said slowly, as if she didn't know whether to share the next part with me, "but I don't want anyone else seeing you naked."

We'd already slept together and exchanged I love yous. Neither of us needed to spell it out that we were exclusive and had no interest in dating anyone else. Even so, I loved hearing her stake her claim. It made me want to do some staking of my own. "No one will," I told her.

Sadie leaned in to kiss me, her lips lingering for a while before she finally straightened and sat back. She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, shooting a glance over her shoulder in resignation. "All right. I'm heading out there again, but I'm doing this for you and me--not her. And only because I don't want anything else holding us back."

I smiled. "Sounds good to me." The reasons didn't matter, so long as we found a way to get past all this bullshit and tension.

I helped her off my lap and watched as she wandered across the room, hoping it would turn out the way we both wanted.

~ * ~

SADIE

---------

I hated this. Truly. All my life I'd followed my sister's lead, listened to her advice, and taken her opinions on board, even if I didn't always agree with them. 

Up until now, Claire had been my voice of reason, my conscience, my best friend, supportive and quick to back me whenever I struggled to back myself. I didn't even need to worry about feeling alone because I always knew she'd be there by my side. My big sister--one of the few constants in my life.

The way I felt now, though? I could only compare it to the time I snuck out of my room on Christmas Eve to find my dad tiptoeing around arranging piles of presents under the tree. My dad. No more Santa Claus. I had to rethink everything and question all those parts of my life I'd always accepted as true because I trusted the people around me.

And when it came to Claire, I needed to accept my role in this situation too, because no one ever climbed onto a pedestal themselves, forcing you to view them as something other than  flawed and human. You had to put them up there in the first place to give them the opportunity to come tumbling down.

So, yeah, this sucked. For more reasons than one.

"I'm sorry," I told Claire. I looked up at her from my spot on the couch during part two of our attempt to find a middle ground where we could both feel comfortable.

We'd been speaking over each other and raising our voices up until now, and the whole time her restless pacing had taken her from one side of the lounge room to the other. At the sound of my more subdued tone, she stopped and stared at me with her eyes wide.

I waited and resisted the urge to fill the silence.

She took a couple of steps closer, then lowered her butt to the coffee table in front of me. I knew I was mostly over being mad at her when the shocked look on her face made me want to smile. Claire flattened her palms on the table and looked at me like I'd spoken another language. "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who's in the wrong here."

"Oh, I know." I smiled to take some of the sting from my words, relieved when a fleeting look of amusement passed over her features. "I'm not talking about what you did. I'm talking about the way I've been treating you."

"I don't..." She frowned and glanced down at her lap then brought her gaze back to me. "You've thrown me, Sadie. What are you talking about?

I took a slow breath in and let it out. "I'm sorry for always thinking of you as perfect, for not leaving any room for you to make mistakes like the rest of us mere humans."

She didn't say anything, but she watched on with an open curiosity that urged me to keep going. I mentally sorted through my thoughts before I spoke again, hoping I made sense because everything had started clicking into place for me now in a way it hadn't before.

"I'm sorry I always expected you to be there for me," I said, "that I let you fix things for me instead of taking care of them myself--and last night... last night I got so pissed off at you because I didn't like your methods even though I understood your reasons. I think I've relied on you for too long, and I didn't even realize I was doing that until now."

Claire reached out and brushed her fingertips over my knee, her skin cold despite the warmth in the room. "To be fair I've been doing that your whole life. You've never had a chance to see what it was like to fend for yourself."

Just like a mother tiger with her cub, I thought, making sure no one could ever get close enough to cause harm. Nice in theory, but in practice it never worked; it just took away my chance to figure everything out for myself, and that didn't make for a very capable adult.

I smiled and caught her hand in mine, squeezing a little for reassurance. My gaze slid over her, taking in her grey eyes so like my own, the slight bump in the bridge of her nose, the smooth skin that resembled porcelain. So familiar yet completely new to me.

Ever since I was a little kid, I'd always seen the two of us as unequal. She'd forever been the taller, smarter, more put-together one, and I'd trotted along somewhere in her shadow, oblivious to my own strengths, and that different didn't have to mean less of anything.

Until now, it hadn't registered that we'd levelled out, that I'd grown up and the gap between us had disappeared.

Why had I expected her to see something I'd never picked up on myself?

I let go of her hand and looked away, rubbing the tension point in my temple that thankfully seemed to be fading the longer we talked. Now we'd found a way to stop shouting at each other, Mason's suggestion had become a lot more achievable. I just needed to remind myself how much Claire meant to me and focus on the important things, like Mason and me, and the career I couldn't wait to kickstart once I wrapped up my degree next year. 

"I think we should put this behind us," I suggested. "If I do my best to stop leaning on you, I'm sure you can stop micromanaging me. You think you can do that, Claire-bear?"

She blew out a gusty laugh and rolled her eyes. "Yes. Yeah, I think I can manage that. I'm sorry, Sadie. I am. I don't know what's wrong with me lately. I've been so angry. I seem to be losing it over the smallest things."

I'd noticed that, too, but she'd been busier than ever with work, and I figured it was a temporary thing that would disappear once her professional life settled down. "It's okay. We're moving on. It's getting better already."

The tightness in my shoulders eased and my smile felt genuine for the first time since I'd shown up here this afternoon. I wanted to run down the hall and drag Mason out to the lounge room just so he could enjoy the moment, too.

The front door swung open then, and I twisted around to see Andy stepping into the tiled entry with a couple of bags hanging from one hand. As he shut the door behind him, he seemed to look everywhere at once, surveying the room like he was worried he'd walked into an ambush situation and needed to be ready to run.

When his attention shifted from Claire to me, whatever he saw in our faces had his wariness disappearing. He raised his brows as he headed our way. "Ladies."

"Andy." I gave him a little wave with my fingertips. "Do you have food in those bags? Please tell me it's food."

He smiled. "Worked up an appetite last night?"

Oh. Too soon. I winced and glanced at Claire, expecting to see a look of disapproval on her face. She surprised me by shaking her head and giving me a tentative smile. We may have been taking baby steps, but at least we were off to a promising start.

"Hey." Mason chose that moment to wander into the room, as if he'd already sniffed out the aromas that were only just starting to make their way over to me. The spices were unmistakable; Mexican food, which just happened to be my favorite. My stomach grumbled and my mouth watered in approval. If there were soft tacos somewhere in those bags, I'd seriously consider kissing Andy.

While he and Claire headed into the kitchen to collect plates and cutlery, Mason approached the rear of the couch. I leaned back and looked up at him, smiling as he dipped his head and planted an upside-down kiss on my mouth.

"All good?" he murmured, sweeping my hair back from my forehead to press his lips there, too.

I nodded. "Probably too soon to tell for sure, but right now I feel like a weight's been lifted off me. I think that's a good sign."

"I'm proud of you."

"Aw."

He smiled, then reached down and grabbed me around the waist. Without warning he flipped me over like a rag doll and draped me over his shoulder in one smooth motion. I didn't even get the chance to fight back; I just hung there with my hair swinging around my face and my head spinning.

And that pretty much described the way I felt whenever Mason was around.

Giddy and alive.

A little confused.

And never quite knowing what would happen next. 

~ * ~

"So... Mason, huh?" Mum stalled in the middle of slicing a tomato and shot me a look from the other side of the kitchen bench.

The glimmer of amusement in her eyes suggested the news hadn't exactly come as a shock, which made me wonder why no one had ever said anything to me. Had my feelings for him been that obvious? All these years I'd been convinced I was operating in stealth mode, but I hadn't fooled anyone.

My parents arrived home early this morning and after bombarding me with stories and photos from their getaway in Fiji, Mum threw herself into organizing a lunch gathering for us all today. Saturday. Two weeks since Mason and I had become a couple. It felt like a lifetime and a fleeting moment all at once.

Dad left fifteen minutes ago to pick up a few bottles of wine from the supermarket. During his absence, Mum and I had discussed the issue between Claire and me, as well as the teen pregnancy I'd only recently found out about. Although she wasn't too pleased with the way Claire had manipulated Mason to keep him from me, she at least seemed to understand her motivations.

Now we'd moved on to a more positive topic, one that made me happier with each passing day.

"Yep. Who would have thought?" I scooted to the edge of the stool and played with the leaves of a discarded celery stalk. My eyes remained on her face, needing to see her reaction to my next question. "Should I assume this is good news for you and Dad?"

Since the age difference had been one of Claire's biggest concerns, I didn't think it would be too much of a stretch to expect my parents might feel the same way.

Not that it would change anything, but still...

Mum lifted her shoulder to shove back a length of dark hair that had fallen free of its clip. She slid the tomatoes to the side and turned her attention to a head of lettuce, the sleeves of her flowing blue kaftan shifting with each slicing motion. "If you get a start on buttering those rolls I might tell you."

I smiled, and without further protest, pulled the platter toward me to nab a fresh roll from the pile. She must have decided I'd done enough to warrant an answer because she picked the conversation up again before I'd even scraped on the first layer of butter.

"You know how I feel about Mason," she said. "He's one of the good ones."

A long moment passed where only the sound of chopping filled the silence. She'd never heard any of the rumors about the countless women he'd supposedly been with, but I still expected her to have some reservations about the guy I'd started dating--even if it was the almighty Mason.

My leg jiggled above the footrest while I waited for her to go on, but she didn't appear to have anything more to add. "That's it?" I prompted. "That's all you have to say?"

Mum spared me a glance before she continued with her work. "That's it. He's perfect. Gorgeous, smart, loyal, strong. He looks at you like he'd give his life for you. If I could have picked your boyfriend for you myself, I still would have chosen him."

Oh, wow. Tears flooded my eyes and my chest filled with warmth, the sensation spreading until it overwhelmed me. I stared at the granite countertop and blinked, fidgeting with the butter knife while I waited for my body to settle.

When I finally lifted my head, I realized she'd stopped working and had been keeping an eye on me during my mini-breakdown. I tried to smile but it only wobbled and fell apart. "I've wanted him for so long, Mum."

Her features softened, and she looked like she would have come around the bench to hug me if she hadn't been holding a sharp implement. "I know, honey. I do. I'm not sorry you had to wait, though."

I surprised myself by saying, "Neither am I."

The sound of the front door opening interrupted our conversation. Footsteps travelled down the hall, and my heartbeat quickened in anticipation.

It could have been Dad or Mason and the others--but I knew. The static charge, the warmth that filtered through my body... it floored me how I could feel him before he even entered the room.

Mum's face lit up at the chorus of greetings that rang out. She dropped the knife and reached over the bench to squeeze my hand, then rushed across the kitchen to deliver a round of hugs to Claire, Andy and Mason.

The room filled with a happy kind of noise, and I sat there feeling content, taking it all in over my shoulder.

As soon as Mum released my sister, Claire glanced my way and smiled. Our relationship had been going so well lately that my return smile came easily.

She had some news of her own to share today, and I couldn't wait to see our parents' reaction. When I found out earlier that week, tears flooded my eyes, and I jumped up and down in excitement.

I had a feeling Mum would be beside herself.

Claire had a good reason for her recent outbursts. Turned out she was hormonal, and pretty soon I was going to be an aunty for the first time. She called to tell me the news right after she shared it with Andy. Knowing what it was like to be in on a family secret now made me feel like I'd finally made it to the inner circle.

Mason still had no clue, but Claire had kept it that way on purpose. There'd been a shift in loyalties over the past couple of weeks and some new boundaries put in place.

Speak of the devil, a wall of solid warmth hit me from behind. Before I could turn my head and set eyes on him, he swept my long hair to the side and touched his lips to the spot just beneath my ear. "Hi."

The sound of his deep voice made me squirm. A flurry of butterflies took flight in my stomach, getting stronger when he slipped his arms around my waist and hugged me.

"Hi," I said, trying to hide the tremor in my voice.

The fact that he could still have this impact on me after everything we'd done amazed me. All week he'd been making the most of this power, kissing me in public to test my control, touching me in platonic ways that generated some very non-platonic feelings. I wondered how long it would take for the intensity to die down. Not that I'd wish that on either of us.

"I missed you," he said.

A thrill raced through me, and I leaned back against him. I had to keep reminding myself we had company and, at a quick glance--yep--they were all paying close attention to the interaction between the two of us. "I missed you, too," I told him.

We'd only been apart one night, not nearly long enough to feel this level of exhilaration when we saw each other again.

"Hey, Mase, maybe you should back off now while you're still somewhere in the parent-friendly vicinity."

Andy may have sounded amused, but he had a point. Mason stepped back just enough to create a sliver of space between us, moving his hands to my shoulders instead. He pressed his thumbs into the base of my neck, massaging muscles I hadn't even known needed attention until he started touching me. I wanted to drop my head forward and moan, but I made myself glance around the room as if everything was perfectly normal.

Claire smiled, clearly aware of Mason's tactics but appearing more entertained than annoyed. Those baby steps of hers were turning into full length strides.

"Claire, can you take over with those rolls so we can eat? Your sister seems a little distracted."

Having all the attention on me made my cheeks flame. Normally I would have tried to hide my reaction, but now everyone knew how hopelessly in love with him I was, I could be more open about my feelings.